Tag Archives: voter suppression

The Independent reports: Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill used his personal Twitter account this week to mock a voter who asked about Alabama’s strict photo ID requirement for absentee voting. A constituent tweeted at Merrill Tuesday morning to ask about voting in Alabama’s July 14 runoff. “I have found the PDF of the application and am fortunate enough to …

The Dallas Morning News reports: A state judge said Wednesday afternoon that all voters in Texas afraid of contracting COVID-19 through in-person voting should be allowed to vote by mail during the pandemic. State District Judge Tim Sulak said he will issue a temporary injunction allowing voters who fear catching the new coronavirus to qualify for mail-in voting through the …

Vox reports: Kentucky’s heavily Republican legislature voted Tuesday to require voters to show a government-issued photo ID, overriding Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto in the process. Meanwhile, if a Kentucky voter heads to the state’s webpage hoping to learn how to obtain such an ID, they will encounter a message telling them ID-issuing offices are closed. Strict voter ID laws …

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports: Dane County Circuit Judge Jill Karofsky won the race for Wisconsin Supreme Court, narrowing the conservative majority after a tumultuous election conducted in the midst of a global pandemic, according to unofficial results released Monday. Karofsky’s victory marked the first time in a dozen years that a Supreme Court challenger beat an incumbent — and just …

Greater Milwaukee Today reports: Wisconsin Republicans asked the U.S. Supreme Court late Saturday to block extended absentee voting in Tuesday’s primary, despite public health fears about in-person voting amid the coronavirus pandemic. Republicans are asking the high court to undo a federal judge’s ruling this week that declined to postpone the election but added six days, to April 13, for …

The Washington Post reports: President Trump on Monday morning became the latest in a procession of Republicans to say making it easier for more people to vote would hurt his party politically. In an interview on “Fox & Friends,” Trump referenced proposals from Democrats in the coronavirus stimulus negotiations that would have vastly increased funding for absentee and vote-by-mail options. …

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports: A Wisconsin appeals court Friday struck down an Ozaukee County judge’s ruling that thousands of people had to be quickly removed from the state’s voter rolls because they are believed to have moved. The appeals judges also unanimously overturned a finding that state election officials were in contempt of court for not taking people off …

“The idea that you would have to have a basic knowledge of America’s Constitution, for example, to vote, I don’t see that as a horrible idea. I really don’t. I mean, it seems to me that having people — you know, the system that we have right now, which is you pick up a bunch of people at a bus …

Courthouse News reports: Three voters and two nonprofits brought a federal complaint Tuesday that says the failure by Texas to register voters through its online driver’s license application is illegal. The lawsuit comes eight days after a cadre of Democrats sued the Texas secretary of state on voter-suppression claims; thousands of Texans were improperly barred from voting in the 2018 …

The Associated Press reports: A conservative law firm on Thursday asked a judge to find the Wisconsin Elections Commission in contempt and fine its members $2,000 a day until it immediately purges more than 200,000 voters from the rolls, a move Democrats are fighting in the key battleground state. A judge last month ordered the purge of voters who may …

The Associated Press reports: One of President Donald Trump’s top re-election advisers told influential Republicans in swing state Wisconsin that the party has “traditionally” relied on voter suppression to compete in battleground states but will be able to “start playing offense” in 2020 due to relaxed Election Day rules, according to an audio recording of a private event obtained by …

The New York Times reports: Stacey Abrams, the Georgia politician who captured national attention during her unsuccessful run for governor in 2018, has decided not to run for president after publicly contemplating a bid for months, according to people familiar with her thinking. Ms. Abrams, a Democrat, will instead focus her efforts on preventing voter suppression with a new initiative …

CBS News reports: Former Vice President Joe Biden rang the alarm that “Jim Crow is sneaking back” at a campaign rally in South Carolina, the south’s first primary state that is seen as key to clinching the Democratic nomination. Biden added to his usual fighting-for-the-middle-class stump speech by calling for protecting voting rights and ending “systemic racism.” Biden cited numerous …

The Washington Post reports: To Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R), the bill he signed Thursday that threatens voter registration groups with criminal charges and fines over incomplete forms and missed deadlines is simply about creating “elections with integrity.” Voting rights advocates, however, argue the law’s true purpose is keeping new voters, particularly African Americans and other minorities who have signed …

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports: Democrat Stacey Abrams ended her run for Georgia governor on Friday as the state prepared to certify the election, but she said she would not concede the contest to Republican Brian Kemp. Saying the law “allows no further viable remedy” for her bid for governor against Kemp, Abrams announced a new voting rights group that will …

Reuters reports: The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday said it would hear oral arguments in February concerning a challenge by 18 states to President Donald Trump’s administration’s contentious decision to ask people taking part in the 2020 national census whether they are citizens. The legal question concerns the scope of evidence that a New York-based federal judge can consider at …

The Washington Post reports: Democrat Stacey Abrams is continuing her fight to force a runoff in the Georgia governor’s race and filed a new lawsuit late Sunday to block counties from tossing out some absentee and provisional ballots. Kemp’s lead has narrowed since Tuesday, but is still above the 50 percent required for an outright win. As of Sunday afternoon, …

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports: Republican Brian Kemp on Thursday resigned as secretary of state, saying he needs to start the work of transitioning to the state’s top office after earning a “clear and convincing victory” at the ballot box. But Stacey Abrams is not conceding anything yet, hopeful that a trove of provisional ballots could be enough to swing the …

Time Magazine reports: Republican Brian Kemp’s campaign declared victory Wednesday in the Georgia governor’s race, though Democrat Stacey Abrams insists that enough ballots remain to leave open the possibility of a runoff. The Associated Press has not called the contest. Ryan Mahoney, a top Kemp campaign adviser, told reporters in a conference call that the numbers show Abrams can’t win …

Buzzfeed News reports: US Border Patrol agents on Tuesday canceled a “crowd control exercise” they had planned in El Paso, Texas, after civil rights groups and lawmakers slammed it as a voter intimidation tactic. The location, near the Hispanic neighborhood of Chihuahuita, and the timing on Election Day raised suspicions, said Terri Burke, the executive director of the ACLU of …